HOT &

TRENDING
February 15

Dear TranceFix crowd,

With the new month we present you the latest Hot
& Trending issue. We have a few recommendations for you, from trance and not only, as well as
another label on our judgement scales and an interview by the label managers. This time its Colorize from Enhanced subdivision.

Some of you might have noticed the questionnaire on our forums. Please take a few minutes of your time and help us to gather some information. What you most likely dont
know is that TranceFix has big things coming its way and since you are part of TF we
need your input too. The rest is secret, which will be revealed little by little. To make
things lighter - next month we will have a contest for you so sit tight and enjoy!

TF Crew

NEWS

Meanwhile the latest Kyau & Albert abum Distant Lights is being sold together with...booze.
In Euphonic shop you can buy
this bundle of joy for just 15,
but only with the proof of your
age.

photo by Euphonic Records

Silk is now accepting demos for

their now classical series Silk
Royal Showcase. This time it will
be volume 5 and if you have
what it takes to be a part of it,
send your demos to
demos@silk-music.com.

And a deep thought from

John Askew

ould be, that having a

specific niche is the reason
why COLORIZE stands out
the most from the rest of Enhanced family. With a huge
rooster, represented by dozens of talented producers,
well arranged release schedule and last but not least the
quality of the signed tracks,
we simply had to feature it.

IN NUMBERS
In the past 12 months Colorize released 37
singles, out of which 21 were unique acts!

Exclusives
Availability
Public previews
Unlaboured schedule
Albums / compilations
Style variability
Remixes

57 orig
i

nals

Inbreeding
Physical releases
Integrity & consistency

LABEL INDEX

70

Fresh b
2 remix
es
lood le
vel = 3
Yearly
6
releas
e dosag
e = 70

Showing a solid quality/quantity ratio, Colorize seems

to be just starting to rise above many other labels. We
caught up with two managers of the label: Rory and
Josh, who kindly agreed to share with us their secrets
of label management.

TF:

Congratulations on a total
of 37 singles in the past twelve
months! How busy was Colorize
team in the past 12 months?

Rory: Pretty busy! Weve been

steadily picking up the releases
over the past 12 months to get to
where we are now which is a release every 2 weeks which gives
us more time to be selective with
artists for the label and get an
EP together, if possible, as EPs
tend to work better with the style
of deep/progressive were releasing! Its also a great opportunity
for the artist to show a range of
styles and skills to their productions.
Weve also started the Colorcast
series towards the end of last year
which sees Colorize artists mixing
a bunch of their favourite tracks
for 60mins which has proven really popular, and were moving to
get this on iTunes so its all systems go!

TF:

Speaking of Colorize team,

how many people are behind this
project?

Josh:

Theres 4 of us

TF:

From all Enhanced Recordings sublabels, Colorize is

undoubtedly the most consistent genre-wise, yet not the only
one in the EDM world targeting
deeper tones of house/trance. Is
there any feeling of competition
(regarding producers, remixers or
just releases) from other labels
out there?

Rory:

"Ultimately we want to
be renowned for consistently delivering a diverse
range high quality releases"

I think all the Enhanced

labels are known for their own
particular style. Our initial focus is
always on the production, which is
one of the reasons why we champion new artists with fresh sounds,
so we try not feel pressured on
what we release. If we hear something we like that is interesting
and has influences of different
genres whilst carrying that deep

sound then thats normally a winning formula! There are a lot of

great labels out their releasing
in similar genres to us which can
only be a good thing as it drives
up the quality of productions. Its
exciting to hear great music no
matter where its come from.

TF: If there were an easy access

to physical releases, would you
switch to it or do you think that
the digital is the best way to go
nowadays?

Josh:

Theres still a market for

physical releases but I think thats
more of a collectors item now.
Nothing beats having a physical
copy, which is why I think the vinyl market is steadily rising. Digital also opens a lot of doors and

gives us the freedom to release

more experimental styles & artists
without having to worry about how
many copies to print.

TF:

What would be the ultimate

achievement for Colorize?

Rory:

I think were all really

happy with the way things are
going - weve had really cool
support so far and it continues
to grow on each release! A real
cherry-on-top though would be
getting to the point where weve
got full albums for everyone on
the label - were working on our
first now. Ultimately we want to
be renowned for consistently delivering a diverse range high quality releases!

TF: A question for label man-

TF: Final question: What would

agers: Maybe you can share what

releases (albums, compilations,
singles) outside Colorize were
your standouts in the year 2014?

be your advice to a producer who

would like to submit a production
for your consideration?

Josh: Thats a difficult one! We

listen to a wide range of music so
its tough to pick out a few but ill
give it a go. A few albums that
really stood out for me are Dark
Sky - Imagin, Sante - Current
and Apollonia - Tour A Tour,
Pig & Dan Destination Unknown,
as you can see we really are
influenced by a lot of different
sounds!

Rory:

Listening to demos is a
real highlight for us as its incredibly exciting to find new artists or
tracks that you think could really work! Theyre always pumped
through the speakers in the office!
We listen to every demo that is
sent through, for all of our labels
but for Colorize please send your
demos through to www.label-worx.
com/demo/colorize Keep them
coming.

EXPLAINING THE CRITERIA

You might be wondering how did we come

about with the criteria and the label index. Here
is a brief explanation which key points did we
use for the judgement.
Exclusives:

While exclusive releases on Beatport, iTunes or any

other portals help boosting up the charts, it also reflects on the pricing of the release and availability. We take exclusive releases as a
negative point towards the reach of the audience.

Availability: If the releases are available on more than 3 portals

we consider it to be a positive, fan-friendly step.

Public previews: It is important for the listeners to make an

Thank you, guys for the time and the answers. Those
who want to catch up with the latest news from the label just head to their FaceBook page:
https://www.facebook.com/ColorizeEnhancedMusic

opinion from samples longer than limited music portal previews, thus
any previews on soundcloud, YouTube, etc are considered as a plus.

Unlaboured schedule: We consider the schedule too tight

if there is more than one release per week and the label being barely viable if there is less than 5 releases per year. The index is obtained by dividing the amount of single releases by the number of
weeks per year (53).

Albums / compilations:

A label gets a plus if the release

diversity is enriched by an occasional album and/or a compilation
release. Too many albums or compilations will lead to a negative
point.

Style variability: Sticking with only one type of music makes

a label too narrow focused while releasing all kinds of styles makes
it too loose in its focus. We consider a healthy number of styles
per year to be between 3 and 7. Exceptions are made when judging a specific sublabel which is focusing on one style.

Remixes: The presence of remixes means their is a well-

planned release approach without simple dump of the latest demo

as a next release. We find the ratio between remixes and all tracks
per year to be good if it exceeds 2.

Inbreeding:

Having a small pool of producers remixing each

other all over leads to inbreeding within the label and reduces the
variability. To quantify the fresh blood level we divide the unique
artists that contributed to the tracks by the total amount of the
tracks. The results exceeding 33% are sufficient to keep the the
label away from inbreeding.

Physical Releases: Treating your fans with an occasional

physical album or single is a luxury nowadays but nonetheless is a

good feature of a label.

Integrity & Consistency: While being the hardest to

define, this criteria is an essential overall look at a label where it

stands in the current picture. Factors being considered here are
such as, consistency in music direction, social network integration
and/or dedicated website, updates about upcoming releases as well
as paying dues to the past ones, details to artwork and the attitude
towards the fanbase.

THE DARK
SIDE
(there are no cookies, but we have music)

Tiga - Bugatti (Tommy Trash

Remix) [Turbo]
With a new batch of remixes for
Bugatti we have something quite
spectacular by the Australian Tommy Trash. This electro bomb has
an extremely addictive riff and progression. The lucky ones will get to
dance to this in clubs.

Raresh - Vivaltu (Remixes)

[a:rpia:r]
The original version has already
been hitting clubs for a few years
and finally we get our hands on
some very big remixes. Just as the
original, all three are more than 12
minutes in duration with a comparable minimalistic progression just
different flavoring. For us Ricardo
Villalobos captures the best magic.

Those who have a soft spot for Burial will definitely

find some comfort in One Of The Moments by EXT.
Built on garage framework and washed through with
breaks style, OOTM by Ukrainian Sergey Mogilevsky,
shields itself with a very thick atmosphere. The vocal
samples, though usually very minimal, in all the tracks
hit the right spot. Those who are expecting some uplifting moods will be bitterly let down - OOTM is filled
with longing and forced exposure. And that is why it
finds its niche and stands out as one of the best albums in the first two months of 2015. Available on
a cassette (50 limited pieces) or digitally on http://
stylss.bandcamp.com

Drumcell - Departing Comfort

[CLR]
Boy, was it hard to choose only one
remix from this single. This heavy
duty techno monster comes with
four equally powerful reinterpretations, and since we were asked to
pick one, we choose the acid infused
Pinion Version.

ARTUR RAYS
FEATURED

(SOLASTONE
RETOUCH)
Its not so hard to find a proper trance tune when you know
where to look for it. Solarstone and his Pure Trance movement does it again with the latest release on the same named
label. The retouch of Rays is a delightful combo of dreamy
arpeggio, kicks from the ballpark of a classical trance movement and a signature Solarstone baseline. Though it has some
striking similarities with some tracks from the latest album by
Rich, Rays still stands firmly on its feet. This one is a keeper.

Mango Alley is probably a well known

label for many progressive music lovers.
Guided by Mango himself the label keeps
a very hight threshold for their releases
and especially remixes. Not that many
labels would hunt down DOUSK for a single remix (no, not this release but please
look up their catalogue). This time Alex
ORion and Rollando Vallice come up
with an extremely melodic and light Eva.
The remixes are very noteworthy too!
Maracaido is not a label of tight schedules and pouring releases, but when they
do it, they do it good. Their latest single
Lint by LTN and Ronski speed got a very
needed remix by Dan Stone. Removing
all the abrasiveness and framing the original in a full powered trance frame, Dan
Stone creates a very memorable work
which hopefully will be spun in your next
trance party.

A gentle melodic progressive touch with

convincing percussions and playful breakdown makes Saffron by Martin Peter a
very suited release to turn to when you
need that cheerful mood injection but
without stepping over high BPM borders.
Elliptical Sun Recordings lately started
focusing on trance music, so we expect
more quality singles from them in the
future.

REALLY BIG
If you are looking for an EDM
compilation for a trip or some
other adventure, look no further.
The second edition of Arrival:
Destination is packed with progressive house and trance works
from a plethora of skilled artists
and you can preview the trailer on
Silk Music Channel.

Trancefix.nl, 2015.

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